Every article I read about bump keying starts the same way: New techniques for burglars to open your door. Bumping open a lock is not new. Bumping is a form of picking and lock picking has been around since before the current style of paracentric locks were invented by Yale in 1861.
Bump Key in Toronto
My customers are becoming more and more anxious about bumping the more they hear about it. This is why locksmiths keep secrets.
For over 100 years the modern paracentric lock has kept our families safe and our possessions where they belong. Now that people are learning how to pick locks over the Internet we don’t feel safe anymore. The locks protecting us have not changed what has changed is that information has become widely available through the internet.
A locksmith is like a magician. People are always asking me if I have a skeleton key or the one master-key that will open every lock in the city. They don’t understand the physics behind this machine they use everyday – and they shouldn’t have to as long as it works.
Information is power. If everyone knew how to pick a lock then those locks would be useless. This is what happened with bit locks. Once people in the general public could buy skeleton keys the locks they opened needed to be upgraded.
In 1861 we needed a new lock. A locksmith secret had gotten out – skeleton keys. The standard bit lock that was secure for decades had been defeated by thieves with a set of skeleton keys.
Here we are one-hundred and fifty years later. Now the Internet is giving people the power to unlock a door without the correct key. People can buy lock picks over the web. There are even websites that will teach you how to pick open a lock. Lately, a lock picking technique called bumping has flooded the Internet – everyone is selling bump keys and instructions. And people are scared.
A bump key is similar to a skeleton key. With practice a thief can open many locks. The scary part is that there is no physical sign of entry. In many cases this means that your insurance company will not pay for your losses.
What is your locksmith doing to help? Well for years Spadina Security Incorporated has been recommending high security locks. Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, Assa and Abloy have all met the U.L. rating 437 for burglar resistance. This means that they are not vulnerable to physical attacks. They have restricted and registered keys. And they can not be picked in less than a minute, even with a bump key.
Underwriters Laboratories puts locks through rigorous tests. Any company that has passed this testing deserves recognition and is a good choice for your door.
We recommend these locks not because of bumping. Although bumping is an Internet craze and the story of the moment for TV news. We recommend these locks because of the many ways we defeat common locks every day in our line of work.
If your locks are more than five years old and you have not rekeyed them you have lost control of your keys. It is ridiculously easy to make a copy of a key – and it’s cheap too! For two dollars I can make a copy of your front door key at the corner store. Two dollars to gain access to your home, your business, your car. And it only takes about ten minutes.
The worst part is that when you copy a key the clerk making the copy does not even ask for I.D. They don’t even care if it is your key they are copying. They just want the $2.
Picking has never been a popular way to open a lock. Burglars just don’t take the time to learn the skill. But common locks can be picked. Some in under ten seconds.
Physical force is the most common way burglars enter your home in Toronto. They don’t need an internet connection – just hand tools – and your lock opens for them in under one minute.
We recommend a deadbolt on every door you want locked. A key-in-knob style lock does not work. It is too easy to open.
We recommend Mul-T-Lock products for key control and physical strength to keep your door closed.
We also recommend window bars, Lexan, and latch guards to keep burglars out and alarm systems to let you know when they get in.
SSI takes your security seriously. You should too.
Jason Scheide
